UCL Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities

Panel Discussion session at the Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference

Friday 30 August 2013, Session 3

The notion of the ‘urban global south’ has made a rapid career in contemporary debates about urbanisation, development and globalisation. It is also, however, facing increasing scepticism. Are we running the risk of aborting a powerful concept before its capacity to rexoginenate planning debates has been fully explored?

A panel, chaired by Caren Levy (DPU), will discuss what  invoking the ‘urban global south’ involves as a progressive critique of contemporary forms of urbanisation, planning and politics

This session has been convened by Adriana Allen, Caren Levy, Barbara Lipietz and Colin Marx, with support from the GCSC Academic Initiatives and Future Cities funds.

Panel:

• Mark Swilling (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
• Aromar Revi (Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), India)
• Adriana Allen (DPU, UCL)
• Edesio Fernandes (DPU, UCL)

London 2062 Book Launch

Pencilled in for the 30th of October

Imagining the Future City: London 2062

A book based on the London 2062 work, edited by Sarah Bell and James Paskins, is due for publication in late 2013. We are currently working towards a book launch at UCL on the 30th of October.

• List of authors and chapter titles (London 2062 site)

Sustainable Resources for Sustainable Cities

from GCSC & Institute for Sustainable Resources

9.00 5th November to 12.00 6th November 2013

Location: UCL

Registration open for Sustainable Resources for Sustainable Cities

Tickets are now on sale for this two-day conference which will look at the urban environment and in particular the vast array of resources growing cities require.

Conference programme:

Day 1 - URBAN METABOLISM, FEEDING THE CITY

9.30 Registration & coffee

10.00 introductory remarks

10.30-12.00 Session 1 – Urban Challenges (the problems)

12.00-13.00 Lunch break & poster display

13.00-14.30 Session 2 – Resource supply

14.30-15.00 coffee break

15.00-16.30 Session 3 – Resources consumption

17.00-18.30 Keynote address - Urban Metabolism, Herbert Giradet, World Future Council

Day 2 – RESEARCH INTO ACTION

9.30-12.00 –Transition Towns panel discussion [including coffee break 10.30-11.00]

The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.

Related links:

• Call for papers (August 16 deadline)
• Poster Competition (tbc)
• Short Film Competition (tbc)

Open lectures covering a wide range of ideas in architecture, design, technology, history and theory. Link…

Lectures, seminars and workshops on topics in the news within London planning. Link…

Weekly seminars in which UCL CASA PhD students, research fellows, honorary staff and visitors present their latest work. Link…

Bite-sized opportunities to sample the exceptional research work taking place at UCL. Link… 

UCL Transport Institute Town Meeting

4.30–6.00 p.m. Monday, 20 May 2013

Roberts G06 Sir Ambrose Fleming LT

A town hall meeting was held on Monday 20 May to discuss plans for UCLTI (UCL Transport Institute). The event featured talks from a range of speakers, including:

• Dr Nicola Christie Director, UCL Centre for Transport Studies (UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering) 
• Professor Peter Jones Chair of Transport and Sustainable Development (UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering)
• Professor Alan Penn Dean of The Bartlett, UCL Faculty of the Built Environment
• Deirdre O'Reilly Head of Social and Evaluation Research Department for Transport
• Andreas Markides Chair of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation's Learned Society & Technical Board
• Dr Louise Atkins UCL Psychology
• Dr Jenny Mindell  UCL Epidemiology and Public Health

The town meeting was followed by a networking reception.

GCSC is working with Dr Nicola Christie to create a pan-UCL Transport Institute.

Find out how the UCLTI plans to harness expertise across UCL and show how our research addresses safety, culture, health, wellbeing, accessibility, economic growth, and security.

• Download the full prospectus for UCLTI
• Download flyer for the UCLTI Town Meeting 

Launch of Urban Pamphleteer

6.30 pm Friday, 26th April

Join Ben Campkin, Rebecca Ross and Guglielmo Rossi for the launch of Urban Pamphleteer issue #1, ‘Future & Smart Cities’. Each illustrated pamphlet in this series collates and presents expert voices, across disciplines, professions, and community groups, around one pressing contemporary urban challenge. The intention is to confront key contemporary urban questions from diverse perspectives, in a direct and accessible tone, drawing on the history of radical pamphleteering.

• Download a copy of the first copy of the pamphleteer

Small Grants Showcase and Reception

28th – 30th January 2013

The Grand Challenges held a showcase in the South Cloisters between the 28th and the 30th of January 2013. The event featured posters from the interdisciplinary collaborations that have been made possible with Small Grants funding.

• Visit the Small Grants Section for more information
• View the Small Grants Posters
  

Festival of Chinese Film and the Body

In the lead up to Chinese New Year 2013, the UCL China Centre for Health and Humanity will be showing four recent Chinese films. 

These will be related to the UCL Grand Challenges themes:  

Global Health, Intercultural Interaction, Sustainable Cities and Human Wellbeing. 

This event is curated by Patrizia Liberati, PhD candidate at Peking University.

The screenings will be presented by three film specialists: in Chinese film, the history of medicine in film, and film and intercultural interaction respectively. 

They will also feature a Q&A session with some of the directors in China. 

Admission is open and free of charge to all members of UCL and registered Friends of UCL CCHH.

The full programme is on the Festival webpage.

The Festival forms part of the new CCHH course Chinese Film and the Body.

Tuesday 15th January 2013

2.30, 30 May 2012

Shaping Cities for Heath: Complexity and the Planning of Urban Environments in the 21st Century

Lancet and UCL Commission

Denys Holland Lecture Theatre, UCL Faculty of Laws

More details about the UCL launch event for the UCL Lancet Commission's report

• Launch event blog
• Watch the panel presentation video
• Watch the Q&A video

Watch Professor Yvonne Rydin's summary of the Healthy Cities Commission

Visit the dedicated website for the UCL Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities

Read the UCL Lancet report "Shaping Cities for Health"

Visit the Lancet Commission's page for the report

Executive Suite, Front Engineering Building, University College London

19 March 2012

London’s demand for energy resources comes from three primary activities: heating buildings, transport and electricity. London has always imported most of its energy as coal, gas, oil and electricity. Renewing London’s energy infrastructure will be vital for maintaining our position as a ‘world city’ over the next 50 years as the centres of global economic activity shift eastwards. This event brought together sector specialists to debate the technological and policy challenges facing practitioners in the coming years to ensure that London has a forward looking energy strategy, that is resilient to major global shifts. Chair: Andy Deacon, Head of Local Delivery, Energy Saving Trust

Speakers:

1. Prof. Paul Ekins, Professor of Energy and Environment Policy, UCL Energy Institute
2. Peter North, Senior Manager – Programme Delivery (Sustainable Energy), GLA
3. Prof. Bob Lowe, Professor of Energy and Building Science, UCL Energy Institute
4. Bob Fiddik, Team Leader - Sustainable Development & Energy, LB Croydon

• London's Energy Future page on the Future of London
• London 2062 Project Site

Download presentations

• Energy in London, 2062—Prof. Paul Ekins (PowerPoint)
• London's Energy Future—Peter North (PowerPoint)
• London's role in the UK energy system of 2062?—Bob Lowe (Powerpoint)
• London needs to be more like Copenhagen—Bob Fiddik (PowerPoint)

4 April 2012

Executive Suite, Front Engineering Building, University College London

Chair: Will McKee (Chair, Mayoral Outer London Boundary Commission)

Speakers:

• Dr Ben Campkin (UCL Urban Lab and UCL Bartlett School of Architecture)
• Sofie Pelsmakers (UCL Energy Institute)
• David Lunts (Interim Executive Director for Housing, GLA)
• David Baptiste (Head of Housing Supply, LB Ealing)

The future continued growth of London will expose sharper housing differentials in the decades ahead. In 2031, London’s population is expected to be 10.1 million inhabitants which implies a need for about 1.6 million new houses and 1.5 million replacement houses. Numbers and space requirements are but two of the issues here; there will also be new demands and pressures caused by accessibility and the liveability of individual places. This event will bring together leading academics and practitioners to debate how we overcome the immediate financial and delivery challenges facing the housing sector to meet these larger long term challenges for London.

• London's Housing Challenge page on the Future of London
• London 2062 Project Site

Download Presentations

• London's Housing Challenge 2062—Will McKee
• London 2062 housing—Sofie Pelsmakers
• London 2062—David Baptiste

20th April 2012

Executive Suite, Front Engineering Building, University College London

Speakers:

• Mark Kleinman, Assistant Director for Economic and Business Policy, GLA
• Michael Edwards, The Bartlett School of Planning, UCL
• Jurgen Essletzbichler, Geography, UCL
• David Fell, Director Brook Lyndhurst

London’s position as a centre of global trade and finance is at once a source of resilience and vulnerability. London’s economy has shown itself to be diverse enough to absorb major shocks so far, but the future of the financial sector is highly significant to the future of London. The future of London’s finance sector depends on the recovery of the global economy and the development of the Asian economies, which may increasingly attract financial as well as manufacturing industries. Past investments in infrastructure and human capital provide a strong foundation for maintaining a position of global strength, though by no means secure it. This event will explore the key actions that need to be undertaken to maintain, grow and diversify London’s economic strength in the years ahead.

• Page for The Future of the London Economy on the Future of London website

Download Presentations

• London economy in 2062: Starting points, end point—Michael Edwards
• London 2062: The Future of the London Economy—Mark Kleinman
• London 2062: The Future of the London Economy—Jurgen Essletzbichler

23rd April 2012

Executive Suite, Front Engineering Building, University College London

Download mp4 version (compatible with most mobile devices)

Chair: Brian Collins (Chair of Engineering Policy, UCL Faculty of Engineering Science)

Speakers:

• Prof. Sir Peter Hall, UCL Bartlett School of Planning
• Dr Robin Hickman, UCL Bartlett School of Planning
• Richard Di Cani, Director of Transport Strategy and Planning, Transport for London
• Ian Lindsay, Director of Land and Property, Crossrail Ltdg

Alongside increases in population size and economic activity, demand has risen for all modes of transport across London. Congestion currently occurs on the radial routes into the city, on the orbital routes around the city, and at key points where long distance and short distance commuting traffic intersect in outer London. Air traffic and the use of London’s five airports have also increased. In 2003, the Department for Transport reported that air traffic had increased six fold between 1970 and 2002, to some 200 million passengers per annum. By 2020, the figures are projected to double again. This event will explore the range of potential, modal, technological, and policy responses to these trends to ensure that London develops a sustainable transport system in the years ahead.

• Page for The Future of London's Transport on the Future of London website
• London 2062 Project Site

Download presentations

• Crossrail and the Future of London Transport—Ian Lindsay (pdf)
• Pathways and Strategic Choices London 2062: Transport—Robin Hickman (pdf)
• London 20602–Transport for London—Richard de Cani (pdf)
• London 2602—Peter Hall (pdf)

6 p.m. 11 September 2012 

UCL Cruciform Lecture Theatre 1

Extra pressure on London's transport systems during the Olympics is forcing both the public and private sectors to try innovative ways to spread demand and use the road and rail networks more efficiently, from new delivery patterns to greater use of the web and twitter. This event will look at some of the successful innovations which ensured that the goods were delivered and that people got around during the Olympics, and that can be built upon to improve ways in which transport is delivered in London in the future.

Chaired by Prof Peter Jones (UCL Transport & Sustainable Development)

Presentations and Panel discussion:

• Dr Andy Chow (UCL Centre for Transport Studies)
• Dr Jon Reades (UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis)
• Michèle Dix (Managing Director, Planning, Transport for London)
• Natalie Chapman (Head of Policy, London, Freight Transport Association)

Followed by a drinks reception in the UCL South Cloisters   

Event video

The Ingredients of a Zero Carbon Zero Waste City: Evolving a ZEDquarter with examples from the ZEDfactory

UCL–Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities Symposium

The Global Carbon Project: Anticipating the evolution of CO₂ trends

Heritage and Climate Change: Protection at any cost?

• summary and presentations
  

Planet U(CL): Embedding Sustainability in Universities

Lessons and Guidelines Drawn for Other Divided Cities

Cities Methodologies

The Future of Urban Studies

Return of the Slum

Urban Water Poverty – workshop

• expert presentations
  

UCL Grand Challenge of Sustainable Cities: Launch

• videos

Cinema & Climate Change

The Age of Stupid – screening and panel discussion

• UCL News
  

Invisible – screening and panel discussion

Growing a New Piece of City: Designing a legacy for 21st-century London – panel discussion

Just Enough: Sufficiency and the cultural imagination – one-day symposium

UCL Energy Institute Launch

• podcast

Climate Change: The biggest global-health threat of the 21st century
The UCL–Lancet Commission on Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change

• film
• podcast
• BBC Today programme interview

City Visions – UCL Urban Laboratory Launch

• video

Disaster Risk Reduction for Natural Hazards: Putting Research into Practice – Disaster risk reduction conference held in November 2009

• Conference summary
• Special issue of Natural Hazards Review